According to the French daily L'Est Republicain, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and pop singer and former supermodel Carla Bruni tied the knot last Thursday at the Elysee Palace.

The report is based on an anonymous source with ties to a witness at the ceremony.

The weekly Le Journal du Dimanche had reported that Sarkozy, who will turn 53 on January 28, and the 39-year-old Bruni would marry in February.

But L'Est Republicain said the French president decided to push up the date because of the diplomatic problems raised by their marital status on official trips to countries with strict religious values.

The weekly Le Journal Du Dimanche reported also that Sarkozy, 52, gifted Carla Bruni a heart-shaped diamond engagement ring in December on a trip to Egypt over Christmas. He received a watch from the exclusive Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe in exchange. The newspaper also reported that the pair planned to get married on Friday, February 8 or more probably Saturday, February 9.

The French president is scheduled to travel to India on January 24 to sign a number of important economic contracts and take part in celebrations commemorating the establishment of the Indian constitution.

The visit of the unmarried couple had provided a number of headaches for Indian authorities because they did not know how to receive her, since she was not the first lady of France, Indian media reported.

"This is the first time we've been faced with a problem like this," an official with the Indian Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying, and added that discussions were being held by Indian and French authorities to resolve the issue.

Sarkozy's head of communication, Franck Louvrier, and his official spokesman, David Martinon, refused to comment on the report, saying that it was part of his private life.

But, asked earlier this month if he and Bruni would marry, Sarkozy had coyly replied, "You will hear about it after it has happened."

Sarkozy and Bruni met at a party in November, just weeks after Sarkozy divorced his second wife, Cecilia and they made their love affair public in December when the President needed to distract attention from a hugely unpopular Paris visit by Libya’s Muammar Gadafy. Bruni’s previous conquests include Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and a former French socialist prime minister.